Over the thanksgiving holiday, I have returned home to Greensboro, North Carolina. In my city of 300,000 residents, there are many parks and natural areas. Most can be described as “urban wilds,” as they fall within the large city and are usually found near bustling developed areas. One example of this is the Bog Garden, a natural area consisting of streams, a lake, a boardwalk system, and some of the best birding around. The Bog Garden is an urban wild area because it lies right next to Friendly Center, a very popular shopping complex.
Welcome to the Bog Garden!
At the entrance of the garden, visitors are welcomed by numerous important signs. After seeing the initial “BOG GARDEN ENTRANCE” sign, there is a large double-sided sign full of interesting ecological information. The signage includes a Bog Garden Bird List from the Piedmont Bird Club, a list of recent plantings, a list of invasive species found in the park, and an entire display celebrating North Carolina’s Native Plants.
As you venture into the Bog Garden, you will find a boardwalk that follows a stream to a small lake and loops around through a wooded area towards a waterfall. Along the boardwalk, geese, ducks, and mallards thrive in the stream. There was a sign at the garden that read “please do not feed the geese,” explaining that Canada Geese are an environmental hazard to the area because of the quantities of e. coli and other bacteria in their waste.
As compared to my Vermont phenology site, Redstone Pines, the Bog Garden is vastly different. The most noticeable difference is the weather. I went to the Bog Garden the day after Thanksgiving and it was still and 60 degrees. In addition, the Bog Garden has no coniferous trees, only deciduous, whereas the Pines are dominated by conifers. The Bog Garden, despite being nestled in a busy urban environment, has much more wildlife than the Pines. At the Garden, I saw geese, mallards, ducks, red cardinals (the NC state bird), grey squirrels, and finches. At the Pines, I only ever see the occasional crow. This is likely due to the size difference in my two locations, as the Pines are very small compared to the Bog Garden.
Reading “An Honorable Harvest” in Braiding Sweetgrass made me reflect on my relationship with nature as it relates to consumerism. The day I chose to visit the Bog Garden was also Black Friday, our country’s number-one day of overconsumption. After reading Kimmerer’s opinions on asking the plants for permission to take them and honoring your humanity, Black Friday seemed so vain and dystopian. I am glad I spent the day among the nature of my childhood and didn’t partake in the Black Friday frenzy.
Happy Thanksgiving from me and my pup, Liam!
